


Elven Totem

by greensooshi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Elves, Fantasy, Fluff, Inter-species Smut, M/M, Romance, Swearing, it gets serious later tho, jongin curses a lot i'm sorry, kinda lord of the rings inspired but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-08-04 22:42:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16355654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greensooshi/pseuds/greensooshi
Summary: There is a boy munching on Jongin's cereal in the laundry room.It isn't really a boy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally written for nodtt but idk what happened to that fest :(
> 
> prompt : "There’s a sad elf in Jongin's kitchen eating his cereal and he won’t leave. Who do you call about sad elves?"
> 
> i didn't exactly follow the prompt, i hope it's okay. also, this turned out way plottier than it should be lmaooo
> 
> twitter : @tinysooshi

 

 

“What do you mean Kyungsoo didn’t come back with you?”

 

His voice roars, echoing against every wall of the room. A frighteningly loud thump hits the mahogany table, it snapping in half at the sheer impact. One of the more novice dispatch members, Mark, licks his lips and steps forward. “He told us to tell you that he won’t be needing you to find him yet while he looks for it, Sir.”

 

“So you did not complete your mission as well, I assume.” The taller male breathes, and it is enough to intimidate the two juniors.

 

“N-No, Your Hig- General. We apologize—”

 

“Leave.” And that is enough for them to trot away and shut the large door, leaving the General alone in the room with his second in command.

 

“Do you suppose we tell His Majesty…?” Seulgi asks, her arms crossing over her chest.

 

“Not yet,” Kris heaves a deep sigh, pressing on his temples. “Send a new team for the mission for now.”

 

“Are you going to look for him, General?”

 

Kris frowns, staring at the split table. He should have known better than to send Kyungsoo to lead a team. “That moron…”

 

-

 

Jongin yawns as his professor elaborates about the therapeutic uses of reversible anticholinesterases, very well knowing he’s not the only one. Pharmacology has never been that interesting anyway. He might as well sit this out and sleep at home, but he’s already received an email from the college Dean about his attendance shortage and he’s not about to graduate college without Honours.

 

So he pretends to listen as his eyes droop, letting out a yawn again and rubs at his watery eyes, and he thinks that in the haze of his boredom cum sleepiness he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, so he turns his head to the window and indeed there is a white-furred cat walking along a tree branch, its eyes seemingly searching, and he quietly wonders how it would get down. He’s heard stories about cats not being able to get down from trees.

 

The cat, as if sensing eyes on it, suddenly looks in Jongin’s direction, and its emerald eyes has Jongin hooting in his head at the beauty. That is one pretty cat, but what is it doing up at a tree?

 

At the creaks of chairs against the floor, Jongin looks ahead to see that their professor has dismissed their class, so he stands up and stretches, hearing his neck pop and sighing in relief as he packs up. By the time he returns his gaze at the tree outside, the cat is no more and there is only a squirrel climbing down the trunk, and that is one odd squirrel having a green stripe stretching along its back to the end of its bushy tail. Perhaps genetics gone wrong?

 

“Hey, you think I can borrow your assignment book for a bit?” Baekhyun’s voice interrupts his thoughts. “Wanna compare some points. I don’t want my ass roasted by Mrs. Hong.”

 

“Sure thing,” Jongin unzips his bag to search for the said book before handing it to him.

 

“Thanks. I owe you,” Baekhyun says, and just as he’s about to walk off, he pauses. “What’s Sehun up to?”

 

“Some computing shit, maybe. I don’t know.”

 

“Hm, cool,” Baekhyun says, unimpressed. “See ya around.”

When Jongin arrives home, he isn’t surprised to see Taemin asleep on the couch, limbs draping over the edge of said couch while the latter snores loud enough that it outmatches the noises from the television. Jongin takes off his shoes and places them at the side.

 

He makes a wry face as he goes over to Taemin and grabs the TV remote, turning it off before yanking the opened cereal box and chip crackers away from his grasp. He seals and places them on the dining table before making his way to his bedroom, planning on eating it later. The shuffle of his feet is distinct in the quiet air although it can never match with Taemin snores-

 

His journey is halted as a green piece of… leaf? Is seen on the floor before him.

 

Looking around the house, he finds that the balcony doors are closed, and the blinds above the kitchen sink are also pulled close. And besides, their apartment is so humid for the lack of aeration sometimes courtesy of Sehun who believes letting the windows and even the balcony doors open equals bad superstition, which Jongin finds extremely ridiculous by the way.

 

So he doesn’t know why such leaf even graces their sticky floor. He ignores it anyway as he trudges his way to his bedroom to take a shower after a tiring day at work. Maybe he should cleanup a little since Taemin never does, and Sehun is almost always never home.

 

-

 

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah.” Jongin says distractedly into the caller while a hand towel dries his hair. “Mm, I’ll drop you a call or something. Yeah. Bye.”

 

Jongin taps on the red phone symbol, tossing his phone onto his bed before going to his closet for a sleeping shirt and a pair of boxers.

 

Taemin is still out cold once Jongin comes out of his room, and Sehun, well, the guy only ever comes home to sleep, unless he doesn’t feel like hanging out late at night. He goes to the kitchen and pours himself some milk into a bowl, bringing it over to their square dining table to eat it with cereal-

 

-Only to find that the cereal box is no longer there.

 

Jongin blinks once, twice, hovering his hand in the air as he steals a glance at a sleeping Taemin who is scratching at his dick in his dream. Could his friend be awake at some point when Jongin was showering? Or is it a subconscious thing Jongin must have done after having arrived home exhausted and sticky?

 

He supposes it’s the latter and with that belief, he goes over to the kitchen to check the cabinets ifthey still have any stocks left and maybe it’s just his imagination or maybe it’s the longing need to have a little bit of cereal for dinner but he thinks he just heard a rustling sound and the noises of… someone munching?

 

“Sehun?” He looks around and really, this should be a good time to panic- the _best_ time to panic, because the sound comes from the laundry room and Jongin could’ve sworn he passed by the laundry room just now with its lights flicked off but- oh, the rustling sound gets gradually louder the closer he walks to the aforementioned room.

 

It’s dark, and they don’t usually do laundry at night because what fools hang their laundry out at night, right? And this time, the entire floor is littered with leaves now while Jongin feels the wall for the lights and really why isn’t he panicking-

 

 _Flick_.

 

Leaves and… more leaves—

 

—And a… person? A person.

 

A person that is all balled up on the… nest of leaves… in Sehun’s black hoodie… that looks two sizes too big for him…

 

Another thing to note is that he’s eating. Jongin’s. Cereal.

 

“Uh.”

 

The person looks up and maybe Jongin is a little taken aback at the pretty face but there are more important matters at hand such as _why is there a person eating my cereal on a nest of leaves in the laundry room and why is he wearing Sehun’s shirt—_

 

“Are you Sehun’s boyfriend?” Is the first intelligible thing he manages to get out.

 

“Who’s Sehun.” Another thing that startles Jongin is the smooth rich voice which doesn’t really match the pretty face but okay.

 

“You’re wearing his hoodie.” Jongin points out. “And what’s with these leaves?” He kicks at few pieces of them aside.

 

“I shed them. Sorry.”

 

“You what.” Jongin whips his head at him.

 

“I’m just… not feeling good.” The guy shoves his hand inside the cereal box and eats them… looking terribly deflated…

 

“Um, okay. But you didn’t have to lie about shedding… leaves.”

 

“Why would I lie about that.”

 

“Yeah great question, why would you?” Jongin says as his foot drags on the floor to collect the leaves together for easier cleaning later. “And Sehun didn’t say anything about having a date over.”

 

“Who’s Sehun.”

 

“Mm yeah he must’ve given you his set of house keys,” Jongin assumes, tapping his foot once. “Do you know if Sehun’s coming home early tonight?”

 

“Who’s Sehun.”

 

“Who are _you_?”

 

The guy slowly removes the hood from his head, and in slow motion Jongin’s eyes grow wide and wider at the sight he is met and is it Halloween? Did Jongin somehow miss the memo? It’s not his fault if he did. But seriously, why… are his… ears… pointed like that…

 

“I am an Elf.” The guy says with no enthusiasm whatsoever and the introduction probably should’ve been pretty climactic and impactful but the way he said it was just bleak and Jongin supposes that’s why he isn’t at all bewildered as he should be. Plus, he’s still munching on his cereal gloomily which brings Jongin back to the point that _he needs the cereal_ and his milk may have grown warm already abandoned at the dining table.

 

“So you’re not Sehun’s boyfriend?” He points at the hoodie he’s wearing.

 

The guy looks down at the material and the act makes Jongin notice the twitching of his pointed ears which are a bit… off-putting because _shouldn’t they be fake?_

 

“Losing the charm made me naked too,” The guy says. “I found it in there.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The guy then gestures behind him and there’s nothing there except the washing machine and a hamper for dirty clothes. Did this guy just take one of their dirty clothes?

 

“There is no more…” The stranger mumbles, shaking the box and frowning at the hollowness before slowly lowering the cereal box and… hugging it.

 

“Uh,” This is probably a good time to call the cop because Jongin thinks it’s one of those situations he’s seen on television except not quite, because the hostile attitude isn’t there. This guy is just… mad sad. And he claims he’s an elf. Sad. Probably needs help. “You wanna talk about it…?”

 

“Could you perhaps give me more of this, please?” The smaller male points to the box he’s clutching at.

 

Jongin stares at the cereal box before returning his gaze to the male’s face and _God_ those pointy ears are hella distracting. “Uh sure, let me check if we still have any…” Shooting a wary look at the stranger, Jongin then pads his way to the kitchen and opens every cabinet there, but they’re all a bunch of lazy guys making a pretty bad combo living together because that means the kitchen is never restocked in time which makes them often settle for takeouts.

 

He checks the fridge then, scanning over the many cans of beer and probably expired cheese. He perks up at the sight of an unopened Kit Kat. When he shuts the fridge doors, he’s startled out of his skin at the sight of Sehun standing there.

 

“Fucking scared me, _dude_.”

 

“Sorry, I need a beer. Move over.” Jongin moves aside and makes to walk back to the laundry room before he turns back to Sehun.

 

“I think your hooker’s waiting for you.”

 

“My what?”

 

“Your hooker. I mean, that’s what he is, right? Or are you guys dating? He said he’s not your boyfriend, though.”

 

Sehun looks at him as if he just grew two heads. “I don’t recall calling anyone over. And I’m dating a girl for now.”

 

Jongin frowns. “Then who’s the guy in the laundry room?”

 

“Guys, why are there leaves in this room?”

 

They both share a look at the gruff voice laced with sleep before heading over to where a sleepy Taemin is looking at. And they are all surprised for different reasons - Taemin because of the leaves, Sehun because of both the leaves and his supposedly favourite hoodie on the green pile, and Jongin because _the guy is no longer there._

 

“What the actual fuck…” Sehun mutters under his breath, eyeing at the mess with utter shock.

 

“Your hooker was here…” Jongin says. “He was here. I saw him.”

 

“Jongin, for fuck’s sake I didn’t call any hooker tonight, okay? And really what the fuck happened here…”

 

Jongin wishes he knew, and he never got to eat his cereal too. He merely drops his gaze at the kit kat in his hand.

 

-

 

In the end, Jongin was made to clean the whole thing up and dispose of the leaves since Sehun is tired and Taemin is unreliable. He’s starting to think something has entirely messed up his head, because that guy looked so real and unreal at the same time? Yep, his head must’ve lost its screw.

 

After ridding of those strange leaves, he goes back to the laundry room to wash their clothes. This time, Sehun’s hoodie is haphazardly left on top of the washing machine and _fuck_ he was _real._ This place is fucking haunted. Maybe he should tell Sehun and Taemin that they should move out.

 

He turns to leave after setting the washer and yawns as he heads to his room, only to stop mid-yawning with his eyes wide open when he notices his sheets are slowly being dragged down the bed—

 

“Hey Jongin, did you finish our cereal?”

 

Jongin flinches and instantly moves over to grab his doorknob and pull the door close, deadpanning at Taemin before him. “Finish your what.”

 

Taemin narrows his eyes suspiciously at him. “Cereal.”

 

“I did.”

 

“Dickhead. It was a whole ass box.” Taemin picks on his ear lazily before trotting away.

 

“I’ll buy a new one tomorrow. Promise. Night.” Jongin rushes, before slipping his way inside his room and locking the door.

 

“Show yourself, thief.”

 

“I told you I am an _Elf_.” The thief emerges from the other side of the room, all wrapped up in Jongin’s covers and there are two pointy projections from the sides of his covered head. 

 

“You stole our cereal. You’re a thief. I’m calling the cop.” Jongin says, heading over to his study desk to grab his phone and dials, hovering his thumb on the green caller symbol expectantly while sending a look the thief’s way, who hasn’t budged one bit. “I _said_ I’m calling the _cop_.”

 

“You do that.” The thief says, shuffling over to the window and Jongin raises an eyebrow when he unlocks the window and opens it, half believing the thief will jump over in an attempt to escape. “I have other more important things to do.”

 

“Like breaking into other people’s houses and stealing more cereal?”

 

“I am looking for something I have lost.” His voice falls solemn now, the breeze from outside coming in and pushing back the covers from his head, the material slipping off his head and bare shoulders until he catches them by his chest before they fall any further. There is a black choker around his neck, studded with colourful stones all around, and when he turns his head slowly so he can look at Jongin, the latter notices an empty circle right on the center pressing against his Adam’s apple, and the thief would’ve looked just as human as Jongin if it weren’t for the ears.

 

The way he gazes at Jongin with those now amber eyes has him in trance. There is a swirl of something that looks like golden dust in his irises, and they make his eyes practically _glow_.

 

And that… that is no human. The beauty before him transcends any human walking this Earth.

 

“What did you lose?” Jongin asks softly, still in disbelief that he has a _magical creature_ standing in his very room.

 

The Elf fingers the empty spot on his choker, and Jongin can see the green vines encircling his wrist - or are they tattoos? “My portal charm. It helps me get home, but it is lost, and now I am trapped in the Human world.” He says, deflated. “I am an incompetent elf. I will most probably be banished from the kingdom. It has been 5 days, and my search so far has come to no avail.”

 

“Well, uh, okay,” Jongin rubs the back of his neck, unsure of how to console a magical creature. “Did you think you’d find it here in our house or something?”

 

“I was hungry and tired when I was searching around the premises. I shall be on my way now,” He slips a bare leg out of the cocoon of covers to step over the window railing, and pauses. “I am naked…”

 

“Uh, I could lend you my clothes until you buy yourself new ones?” Jongin offers. "Wait, have you been wandering around naked all this time?"

 

“I do not have… human coins.” He mutters. “Shapeshifting wears me down. Please lend me your clothes…”

 

“It’s Jongin,” He introduces himself, going over to his closet to find an old pair of sweats that are now short on him and a worn out Avengers graphic tee. “And this should do. Or do you need boxers too?”

 

“What are boxers?”

 

“The thing you put to… suspend your thing…” When the Elf stares up at him with sheer confusion, Jongin gives up. “Never mind. Your ears are hella distracting, by the way.”

 

At the statement, the Elf directs his gaze to Jongin’s ears and _touches_ them. “You humans have a strange pair of ears. But I guess, if it helps me in aiding my search without me having to shapeshift my entire form…”

 

Jongin almost chokes on his spit when he watches Kyungsoo’s ears change - _fucking change_ \- and lose their pointy ends to mould into something more rounder, more _human_. “Bloody _hell_.”

 

“Do I look more like you now?” He has the nerve to look up innocently with those golden eyes, and from the proximity Jongin can see that his hair is more auburn than black, with a clean undercut and bangs that fall just above his eyebrows.

 

“You meant to tell me you could _disguise_ as one of _us_? And that many of the people out there could be _your kind_?”

 

“I thought the humans were well-informed of this.”

 

“We’re fucking _not_ ,” Jongin shrieks, taking a step back from the Elf. “God, this is fucking madness I think I’ve gone mad. Is this a dream?”

 

“We’re real,” He hears the other male say. “I’m real, and I need to find my portal charm as soon as possible before my banishment commences, though I believe father would not allow such a thing…” The Elf instantly drops the covers to the floor and Jongin immediately whips his head away, clearing his throat awkwardly.

 

“I hope you know which go where,” Jongin says, referring to the clothes he’s given him.

 

“I have spent enough time in this world to know how you humans dress yourselves.” He mutters before walking up to Jongin who just realizes the Elf is now decent. “I shall take my leave.”

 

“Wait,” Jongin exclaims, watching the shorter male walk up to the open window determinedly. “Just like that?”

 

“I am truly sorry for your cereal. I was sad and hungry and tired I could not keep myself.”

 

“No, fuck that cereal. So you’re just going to leave? I haven’t even gotten your name yet, or, like, gotten any of this shit figured out yet. You’re just going to leave after telling me you’re a fucking Elf?” Jongin could care less about the profanities as he is just so stupefied. He watches the other male approach him and, with a gentle caress of his hand across Jongin’s cheek, the Elf tiptoes to peck him on the lips.

 

“My Elven name is _Erynion_ , son of _Herion_ ,” He whispers. “But you can call me Kyungsoo.”

 

-

 

Jongin wakes up with a jolt, panting as if he had been sprinting in his dream. He reaches for his phone, and it shows 15 minutes before the onset of his daily alarm. He wakes too soon.

 

As he brushes his teeth laggardly, he can only think of that Elf in his dream and how _real_ he seemed. Even the kiss, the soft pressure of his lips against Jongin’s, felt so tangible. Maybe Jongin needs to get laid or something for dreaming of a pretty boy. He hasn’t had sex in weeks due to college. He probably needs to be more like Sehun, but he’s just too lazy to charm anyone at the moment when all he needs is a little release.

 

After washing up, he goes back to his room to get ready, preparing his textbooks as per today’s classes, which won’t start in another hour but he’s woken too soon so he might as well study at the library for a bit.

 

He’s just about to leave after throwing his bag over his shoulder when he hears a rustling, and he looks back to see that it is the curtains near his window. Frowning, he goes to it, not remembering having it opened before he sleeps last night. He makes to shut the window when he notes something else littering the railing.

 

They’re leaves.

 

-

 

“Hey, Sehun,” Jongin questions as he ties up his shoelaces. “Did you bring any hooker home last night?”

 

“How many fucking times do you have to ask me that?” Sehun snaps, munching on his muesli bar as he scrolls his phone. “No, I did not bring anyone back last night. Did you hit your head or something?”

 

“So those leaves we see in the laundry room—”

 

“Are real. I just don’t care enough about it. Probably left the window open or something. You were the one on laundry last night.” Sehun dismisses, and so Jongin leaves the house still musing over the presence of the Elf last night.

 

His college is a 10 minute drive away and he revs the engine of his parents-gifted Hyundai there. He kills some time in the library before classes start, and in the middle of his studying, he slips his hand inside his jeans pocket to take out the scrunched leaf, inspecting it.

 

Baekhyun appears and takes a seat across of him, making a face. “I saw a huge rat just now. Gross. What’s that?”

 

“Do you think Elves exist?” Jongin blurts without thinking, still looking at the branching spines on the leaf. It looks kind of unique, it doesn’t just branch out like a normal leaf. It looks like a snowflake except it’s opaque and green, borderline brown now.

 

“Elves? You mean those with pointed ears? Like Legolas? They’re called mythical creatures for a reason, Jongin.” Baekhyun says as he takes out some books from his bag and presumably to resume his unfinished assignment.

 

“Mythical,” Jongin mutters to himself, turning the leaf around, lost in thought. “Right.”

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoooooo im not kidding when i said i forgot about this fic lmao sorry

 

 

_Elven Trivia I_

_The (portal) charm— enables the elves to commute from the Elven realm to the Human world, and vice versa. Not issued for every Elf since the craft takes a lot of spells, hence costly. Usually soldier Elves being dispatched to the Human world for mission purposes own them. When in Human world, only with the possession of the charm allows the Elf to channel their powers._

_The royal charm — similar to the regular charm, but is crafted with royal blood, hence only royalty owns them, especially those who lead the royal military. What makes it superior compared to the normal charm is that only those who possess the royal charm are able to teleport more than one persons per trip._

 

 

 

-

 

“Your Highness, we have not been able to locate him. We believe his charm has been dismantled and destroyed.”

 

Kris stops pacing around the room to give a hard stare at the young wiseman, his robe swaying to the stillness of his figure. “Then, work something out. Do anything to find him, Yixing.”

 

The wiseman, ever calm and collected, thuds his staff once and pays him a remorseful look. “With all due respect, Your Highness, without the charm, we cannot physically locate hi—”

 

“ _Idhrenion, son of Saeldur_ ,” Kris growls vehemently, glaring at the man who shuts his eyes out ofrepressed fear. “I know you have the capabilities. I order you to try again.” And just like that he stomps off and leaves the room, the majestic flap of his golden robes disappearing by the mahogany door intricately carved with their royal insignia.

 

“What did the wiseman say?” Seulgi asks as soon as he’s out of the room, and they both walk side by side along the hallways, heading to the training field. To their left is an open railing facing a bordered meadow; young warriors seen honing their archery skills and swordsmanship, oblivious to the inner crisis within the royal household. “Did he locate Kyungsoo?”

 

Kris shakes his head, his intense gaze scaring every maids and servants as they step aside and bow in fear of his wrath. “They think his charm is destroyed.”

 

Seulgi frowns. “But who would do that?” She then gasps, sharing a look with the General. “You don’t suppose…”

 

The General nods. “They know he is there, and it is likely they also found out about the mission.”

 

“We should find him quick, General. We cannot put off reporting this to His Majesty any longer. The people will speculate.”

 

“For that, we need a clear hint of where he is at.” Kris says. “I cannot simply leave the palace unguarded.”

 

Seulgi stops him in his tracks, her gaze fierce as she looks up at the taller male, her hair tied up into a high and tight ponytail in a green band. “Do you not trust me, Your Highness?”

 

Kris stares her down, into her golden eyes. “This is not a matter of trust, _Faelwen_. Only _I_ can bring him back, and you should already know that. Send a team to look for him this instant and have them report to me of his possible whereabouts.”

 

The female elf frowns, instantly letting go of the issue between them. “Without locating him first?”

 

“If he were located, there would be no need for a search team. Kyungsoo’s team members still had his last location. While we wait for Yixing’s vision, they can start from there.”

 

-

 

Friday night finds Jongin getting ready for Luhan’s birthday party. He doesn’t know the dude well, Sehun’s the sociable one here and Sehun knows almost everyone in college and now the guy’s invited Sehun and his housemates to the party. Jongin only hopes to get a decent lay and go home. He had Sehun texting him the address so he can go a bit later while he does his assignment due next week.

 

Wrapping that up, he grabs his car keys and is just about to leave until he hears a dull thump from inside the house. He thinks nothing of it but when there is an apparent sound of rustling, he steps out of his shoes to go back inside, grabbing a nearby kitchen scissors laying conveniently on the dining table as he slowly pads to the hallway. Taemin and Sehun has left together a while back.

 

There is no more sound after that, it’s gone dead quiet. He flips on the lights in the laundry room to find nothing out of the ordinary there, and checks Taemin and Sehun’s rooms too before he finally stops in front of his room. The door is left ajar, but he can’t see anything as he has turned off the lights, although he does notice the flowing curtains near the window—

 

The window?

 

With a tentative push on his door, he feels the wall for the lights and once switched on, he gasps.

 

“Fuck, Kyungsoo?” He exclaims, observing the Elf laid on the floor face down and it’s been nearly two weeks but he is still wearing Jongin’s Avengers tee and his pants, and he looks limp. His ears have gone back to his elf form. Jongin places the kitchen scissors on his desk and walks toward the limp man, nudging his waist with his foot. “Hey elf, why are you here again?” He doesn’t budge, and when Jongin crouches to get a closer look at his face, his eyebrows are pulled up together and his forehead is sweaty. Jongin frowns, placing a wary hand on his damp forehead only to retract at the clammy cold skin.

 

“Shit,” He moves to kneel on the floor and flips the elf on his back, only to curse some more at the bloody palm over a part of his stomach, and the blood now soaking through his tee. “What the fuck happened?” He thinks hard about what to do. Placing the elf on the bed would stain his sheets, so he figured he should just carry him to the bathroom since the first aid kit is there anyway. With that thought, Jongin lifts the elf up bridal style and quickly brings him to the bathroom.

 

Jongin places the elf on the closed toilet seat, him so weak he rests his head on Jongin’s chest while the human works on the shirt. Part of the material sticks to the bloody wound and when he finally takes it apart, the elf hisses in pain. Jongin tosses the stained shirt aside and studies the wound and only then he sees the shard still resting inside. He gulps.

 

“Listen to me, elf, I’m gonna have to pull that thing out and it’s gonna hurt like shit so I’mma need you to hang in there and stay with me, you hear me?” Jongin rushes, stealing his own brush from the sink so Kyungsoo can bite onto while he slowly, carefully takes the shard out. A guttural, painfully sounding whine is heard, and there’s more blood oozing out of the open wound now, and Jongin presses the heel of his hand to arrest the bleeding while he takes a moment to inspect the shard - it looks more like a small blade - and then puts it aside.

 

Kyungsoo is positively sobbing now, still biting onto the toothbrush and seems to be muttering something so Jongin removes the toothbrush with his clean hand only to hear an agonizing _hurts, it hurts_ and the human has to let go of him for a bit so he can find the emergency kit. He’s not the best at stitches but first aid training did teach him a thing or two, so he has to make use of what little knowledge and skill he has for now. “Elf, I think the hospital would do you better…”

 

The elf is breathing has yet to slow down, while Jongin antisepticizes the wound and stitches him up, and although it’s easier to stitch up without him squirming and writhing in pain, it still worries the human if he might have lost too much blood on the way to Jongin’s room. He has so many questions, like why did he come back to his place, what was that blade, why was he stabbed…

 

After wrapping the small torso up with bandage, he belatedly notes how thin and pale the elf looks, his ribs apparent beneath his skin, and there are more tattoos past his navel and towards his groin only to be cut off by the waistband of Jongin’s sweats. He lifts him up again to carry him back to his room. The elf has fainted midway, or earlier, Jongin doesn’t notice.

 

He’s still asleep by the time Jongin puts a new clean shirt on him. The ringing of his phone has him exhaling a profanity and he quickly gets it out of his jeans pocket, seeing an incoming call from Sehun. “What?”

 

_“Dude, aren’t you coming? What’s taking you so long—”_

 

“I’m not coming. Homework caught me up.”

 

_“Oh, sucks. Bye then.”_

 

He ends the call and flings the device onto his desk, grabbing the scissors to return it in the kitchen until a soft _Jongin?_ has him pausing mid-walking and turning back.

 

The elf is awake, but he looks weak and pale, like death creeping on his toes. He then manages a smile despite the pain, and Jongin frowns, approaching the bed. “Elf, you okay? What the fuck did you get yourself into?”

 

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to say, weakly: “You don’t perhaps have the same cereal like that night, do you?”

 

The request has Jongin snorting, getting up from the bed to go to the kitchen. He bought five whole boxes out of impulse, or maybe he was quietly longing to see the so called mythical creature again. It’s been plaguing the back of his mind, wondering if it really wasn’t a dream. This time, he comes back with a bowl full of milk and a spoon.

 

He places the bowl and cereal on his nightstand before looking at an expectant elf. Jongin worries his lower lip, digging one knee onto the mattress so he can secure Kyungsoo’s torso before lifting him up and with his free hand he pushes the pillow against the bedrest before lugging Kyungsoo to lean against it, sitting up. The elf only winces a little at the short contact with the side of his stomach.

 

“When I tell you I’ve never done this before…” Jongin mutters, pulling away from him only to be stopped by a hand on his arm. He looks up to be met by those ever magnificent amber irises, catching Jongin off guard when those eyes close and before he knows it there is that familiar peck on his lips again, and this time Jongin recoils.

 

“Elf, we need to talk about this random outta nowhere kissing coz’ as much as I like it, that isn’t how we roll here,” Jongin rushes, his cheeks heating up when Kyungsoo looks at him puzzled.

 

“You humans do not kiss as a gesture of appreciation?”

 

Jongin blinks dumbly at him. “A simple thank you would suffice. You don’t kiss a teacher for teaching you, or doctor for treating you.”

 

“You don’t?”

 

Jongin can only manage a weird stare at him, getting off the bed to hand him the bowl and cereal. “Eat up. I’m gonna clean up the mess.”

 

He starts with the bathroom that looks like a murder scene, cleaning up blood and washing his torn shirt. He’s not keeping it anymore, he’s just going to get rid of the bloodstains before any of his housemates gets any weird idea.

 

When he’s cleaning the blade, he finds that there is an intricate carvings on it, like a tribal pattern of some sort. He dries it and plans to bring it to Kyungsoo later.

 

Finished with the bathroom, he gets a broom and dustpan to clean his room of the leaves the elf left in his trail as he got up to his room. He also has that to ask him, but he has to wait until the elf is well fed for now.

 

By the time he finishes cleaning up, Kyungsoo has emptied the whole box and Jongin is now prepared with 4 more boxes in the kitchen. The elf has fallen asleep against the headboard. He doesn’t know how the elf manages to wolf down the whole thing. Maybe an elf’s appetite is greater than that of human…

 

Jongin goes to him and gently lays him down the bed, raising the sheets over his figure. He brings the empty bowl and box to the kitchen, and not knowing what else to do, he gets his assignment from his room to do it outside in the living area. He thanks the heavens Taemin and Sehun aren’t home, or he wouldn’t know how to get Kyungsoo into the bathroom outside and back into his room.

 

With the elf in bed, he’s certain he needs to use the couch for the night.

 

-

 

Sehun wakes up dreary and with a splitting headache, threatening to crack his skull open. “Fuck…” He turns over to the girl beside him, nudging her awake and telling her to leave, not caring when the girl flips him off as she dresses up and leaves.

 

Forcing himself to get up, Sehun grabs his boxers and heads out, a hand on his forehead and wincing at every step he takes because _fucking hangovers_. He drags himself towards Jongin’s room and knocks once. Not hearing a response, he knocks again. “Jongin?”

 

There is no sound, so Sehun turns the doorknob and pushes the door open. “Jongin, I need you to make that hangover soup for us— what the fuck.” He freezes by the door, staring at a boy who is equally surprised as him as he sits up on his elbow to look at Sehun, and the shirt he’s wearing is all too familiar.

 

“Well, _damn Jongin._ Dude bailed out on a party and got a whole cutie in bed without telling us?” Sehun exclaims, looking around to find the said guy before returning to him again. “Where is he, by the way?”

 

He doesn’t respond, and Sehun shrugs, walking out only to be stopped short at the sight of an irritated Jongin.

 

“Who the hell told you you could open the door? That’s right, _no one_.” He snarls, pushing Sehun away and tugging at the knob to shut the door, earning a snicker.

 

“Possessive already, huh? Thought you didn’t go to the party.”

 

“I didn’t.” Jongin says, going to the kitchen to fix them all breakfast and the hangover soup Sehun tells him to.

 

“Who was that, by the way? Never seen him in college before.” Sehun asks, leaning against the bar top.

 

“Someone I know. Get your nose outta my business, by the way.”

 

“Well, tell him to find me if he ever gets tired of you,” Sehun says, chuckling.

 

Jongin sighs exasperatedly as he turns off the stove and slams the pan. It’s morning and in the midst of his crankiness he’s thankful the elf moulded his pointy ears to human ears just in time before Sehun saw them.

 

After occupying Sehun with the soup, he goes to his room to check up on the elf, and upon noticing the human is back, he reshapes his ears back to his elf form, smiling, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. Jongin, closing the door and locking it, trudges over to the bed and sits.

 

“So uh, that was my housemate, Sehun. Sorry, he’s a little prick sometimes,” They all are at some point. “Listen, elf, I’m… not sure how long you plan on staying here but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Once you’re healed, could you please leave? This is not me kicking you out but… okay so this is totally me kicking you out.” Kyungsoo has only just blinked once as he watches Jongin blabber, and if it weren’t for the sleep still crawling in Jongin’s eyelids, he would’ve thought the elf looks fascinated or something.

 

“We elves heal fast,” He says, looking down and lifting up Jongin’s shirt to display the torn bandage and pink scarring. “Unlike you frail humans.” The sight has Jongin gaping, certain as heck that the elf was just on the brink of death just a few hours ago. He turns away so fast, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly.

 

“Shit, I still can’t believe you’re real,” He breathes, peeking an eye out on the elf and his pointy ears, and groans again. His eyes are no longer glowing amber, now brown like Jongin and the rest of South Koreans, and he squints. “Is that your real eye colour?”

 

Kyungsoo blinks and inches himself closer to Jongin’s face, looking him directly in the eyes and Jongin can only stay still as he watches the eye colour change before him, from brown to amber then back to brown but a darker shade. “Elf, what the fuck.”

 

“I mimicked yours,” Kyungsoo leans away then, staring up at Jongin. “I have your eyes.”

 

It’s borderline creepy that he’s staring into his own eyes knowing that those are of his colour, but it also makes him flush because Kyungsoo mimicking his ears _and_ eye colour? “Just don’t mimic my entire face.”

 

“We cannot do that. We can only mimic a part of it.”

 

“Good, coz’ I’d rather not have any version of myself in this house except for me.” Jongin says, then remembering about the blade, he gets to his desk to get it and returns to Kyungsoo. “Uh, I cleaned this last night, and I’m not sure if you might need it.”

 

The elf frowns, taking the blade gently and turning it with both his hands, looking at the pattern. “I was right. They were here.”

 

“So you were attacked?”

 

“The Daeraldians,” He mutters under his breath. “They know I’m here.”

 

Jongin blinks dumbly at him. “I’m sorry, _daera_ -what?”

 

“I need to return home immediately- but I haven’t found my charm yet…” Dropping the blade on the sheets, the elf proceeds to cover his face with his two hands, seemingly in grievance. “Father will _kill_ me.”

 

“Okay so you haven’t found that charm-y thingy yet? After a week?” Jongin deduces, and he gets a dejected look in return, and he instantly understands. “Is that why you came to my room?”

 

“You were the only human that looked after me well.”

 

“You… basically forced your way inside.”

 

“And I did not know where to go after the ambush. I could not port myself home to get myself treated too. I was a little lost, so I made the wisest decision to come to you.”

 

“ _Wisest_ ,” Jongin parrots, wincing. “I’m not so sure about that.”

 

“Now I am healed and well-rested,” Clearly Kyungsoo is not listening to anything Jongin says, and when there is an obvious grumbling, the elf blushes. “And perhaps a little but if not famished.”

 

“I can get you more of that cereal if you want?” Jongin offers, already standing up. Earning himself a bashful smile, Jongin snorts and makes his way outside.

 

Sehun is no longer in the kitchen, probably getting ready to go out. Jongin makes himself quick and get a new bowl since he didn’t do the dishes last night and this morning, and tears open a new box of cereal. This time, it’s fruit loops.

 

“Hospitable partner you are,” Sehun startles him on his way back to his room. “Cutie really swept you off your feet?”

 

“Fuck off,” Jongin dismisses him and brings the bowl of milk and cereal, balancing them together so he can open the door while Sehun cackles in the background. He is taken by surprise, however, when the said elf is no longer in the room, or more like no longer on the bed. The elf is seen near the open window, looking out, and almost jumps when Jongin calls him.

 

“I brought your food.”

 

Instead of responding to Jongin though, Kyungsoo goes back to looking out the window, leaving Jongin feeling a little dumb being ignored in the middle of the room so the human huffily walks up to him and joins Kyungsoo. He doesn’t see anything worthy of his attention, though. “What’s wrong, elf?”

 

“I… I thought I sensed an energy.” He breathes, his eyes still searching. “A presence.”

 

“What, like another elf?”As soon as the words leave his mouth, their doorbell rings. They both share a look before Jongin heads to his door and when he opens it, a loud slam is heard from the living area, prompting him to rush there with an audible profanity on his tongue.

 

The sight that greets him has him gaping; Sehun is on the floor, limp, and he’s not even sure if his friend is still alive. There’s blood on part of his shirt, and Jongin curses some more. The dining table is upturned and chairs tumbled. Jongin turns his head to the entryway to see two persons calmly standing there and once they spot Jongin, the human all but runs back to his room and locks the door, his heart racing and his palms clammy with cold sweat.

 

He then whips around to face Kyungsoo. “Please fucking tell me you’re not one of them.”

 

“Jongin, we need to leave.” The elf says urgently, opening the window wider and stepping on the railing. “They think I have the orb.”

 

“ _Leave_? What _leave_? Can’t you do something about them—”

 

“The loss of my charm disables me from channeling my energy other than shapeshifting! We need to _leave now_!” The elf urges him to climb over the window before deciding the human is too slow, so he pulls him by the arms and practically drags him towards it.

 

“Wait, elf, are we gonna fucking jump?” The door to his room is then sent crashing, and the two mysterious men, both their eyes a glowing blue, aim their hands towards Jongin and Kyungsoo and in his panic, he pushes Kyungsoo out the window and thinks that _wow, this is how I die, huh?_

 

They, however, do not feel the pull of gravity as he thought they would, and when he cracks his eyes open it is to the moving buildings— moving buidings?

 

“Elf, are we really flying right n— _the fuck_?” He curses and almost drops his hold at the sight of the light golden wings behind Kyungsoo’s back, flapping majestically as they float in the air. He is holding onto Jongin by his larger torso, and it’s apparent on the elf’s face that he is struggling to keep ahold. “While you’re at it, why don’t you turn into a whole ass bird!?”

 

“You are the loudest human I’ve encountered, Jongin. And heavy too.” Kyungsoo says distractedly, his eyes busily searching for a place so they can hide for the time being, it being the back of a mall.

 

Jongin wills himself not to look down even for a second and keeps a tight grip onto Kyungsoo’s shirt, and he can already tell the elf is tired supporting him as well as flying them to someplace else by the panting breaths he let out. “Elf, I suggest you place us down before we crash.”

 

“We are almost there,” He gasps out, his wings flapping less as he initiates their descent, and at the back of the mall, there are less human traffic. Kyungsoo lands them both near the fence and away from the truck drivers now chatting somewhere at the entrance at the back of the mall.

 

Feeling a surface beneath his feet, Jongin groans out a sigh of relief, and he notes how the wings behind Kyungsoo’s back disintegrate into leaves before they fall down. As soon as they both touchdown, Kyungsoo falls limp into the taller male’s chest and Jongin catches him just in time, the elf catching his breath as if he just ran a marathon. “Damn, elf, you should really work on your stamina or something.”

 

“You are not an elf,” He breathes into Jongin’s chest, his hands gripping on Jongin’s arms for purchase. “You would not know. We still need to run, they will be able to find me through my leaves.”

 

“Your leaves?”

 

“I could not help the trail that I left.”

 

“You deadass left a trail?” Jongin exclaims, staring at the leaves behind them. “Why the hell do you elves shed leaves anyways?”

 

“It only happens without the charm. We do not shed otherwise, and we need to move _now_.” He says, and so Jongin supports him with an arm around his waist as they head towards the fire exit door and into the mall. He feels utterly underdressed being inside a mall without his shoes on.

 

They end up in a storage ware where everything is dark and the ceiling reaches high, and Kyungsoo urges Jongin to let him down for a second for he has gotten far too tired. He immediately slumps, his two tatted hands resting on the cold floor and his torso looking close to kissing the ground.

 

Jongin, worried, crouches before him and tilts his head. “Hey, elf, you okay there?”

 

“Shapeshifting… that much…” He breathes heavily, his eyes threatening to close. “Wears me out… Just give me a minute…”

 

-

 

Minseok keeps a close eye on the two winged creatures flying just past them, sending a glance towards Mark who is on the other side of the road, and makes a 6pm gesture before they both head out. Yixing had said he sensed elven energy roaming around in this town, and Kris immediately ordered them to search for the missing Elf.

 

They are in pressed suits, courtesy of their charm scanning the mannequins from outside a tailor shop, and they move as stealthily as a tiger rounding up about a prey. So far the two Daeraldians have not sensed their presence, much too focused on heading to a specific location, and that is where they trail after them.

 

The mall is a few hundred feet tall, and the two Daeraldians seem to have made their descent on the other side of the mall, so Minseok and Mark rushes to the back, avoiding people and moving cars as they now sprint, paranoid of what they would do should they find the youngest royal descent. Flying would make their energies stand out, as well as scaring the humans, so they stay on land.

 

Without pausing in their steps, they make their way inside the backdoor, finding themselves in some sort of a storeware. The elder of the two is just about to produce a new instruction when his boot meets a prominent crunch, and he lifts his foot to see what it is, only to gape.

 

“He is close.” Mark remarks, picking up one of the dried leaves.

 

Minseok prompts them both to go further inside, his steps now urgent. “The Daeraldians even closer.”

 

-

 

Jongin paces the corner of the store ware that they take refuge in, releasing frustrated sighs every minute. “Do you think Sehun’s dead?”

 

Kyungsoo opens his eyes slowly to look at him. At least the elf is not panting anymore. “Who is Sehun?”

 

“My friend! Back at the house! He looked like he was fucking dead!” Jongin snaps, carding through his hair in exasperation. “Elf, what the hell is going on?”

 

“I am sorry, Jongin… I did not mean to drag you into this,” Kyungsoo apologizes, his eyes dim. “But I could not risk leaving you there unprotected.”

 

“Then what about Sehun? Hm?” He pauses, eyeing the elf closely. “What do we _do_ with him?”

 

“Once we find my charm, I can get him treated in my kingdom,” Kyungsoo slowly gets up, swaying a little, but otherwise he looks more okay now. “I believe I have gathered enough energy to—”

 

“ _Maldorian_!”

 

They both turn to the two blue-eyed elves, their hands not quite the shape of hands; they are of _blades_ \- similar to the one struck into Kyungsoo’s abdomen last night.

 

“Surrender yourself and the Orb, and we shall spare your human companion.”

 

“My Daeraldian fellows, you cannot have what is not yours,” Jongin stares at Kyungsoo incredulously, wondering why is he testing these two hostile looking dudes.

 

One of the blue-eyed elves aims his hand at Jongin’s chest, while his other hand is held out upturned, highly expectant and likely not tolerable. “The Orb, Maldorian.”

 

Kyungsoo steps up and stands before Jongin in a protective stance, and the human stares at him as if he’s grown two heads. “Leave the human out of this.”

 

The Daeraldian cocks an eyebrow at him and shoots him a smirk. “As you wish.” As soon as he says it, a blade shoots right out of his hand and Kyungsoo is ready to shapeshift until a strong force pushes him to the side and he catches himself on the ground with a huff. There is a deep grunt from above him, and to his horror the voice belongs to Jongin.

 

“No!” He quickly gets back on his feet to get to the human now kneeling on the ground, a hand pressing tight against his left hip from where the blade is now embedded, red now seeping through Jongin’s white tee and a part of his sweats.

 

“The Orb, you dirty land elf.” The blue-eyed elf demands again, aiming his hand towards Kyungsoo now on his knees inspecting the deed in Jongin’s hip. It looks like it might have struck through his hipbone and deeper in the flesh, and Jongin hisses in distress and pure suffering, and it _pains_ Kyungsoo to see it.

 

“You will _never_ have it, thieves,” Kyungsoo growls, his eyes sharp and bright amber fluids swirling within his irises in sheer rage, golden wings growing and growing from his back and they furl just in time before the Daeraldian shoot their blades towards them, piercing through the upper layers of feathers but never reaching Kyungsoo who is balled over Jongin protectively.

 

The Maldorian elf withstands the pain as he forces his small build to lift Jongin up with every ounce of energy residing within him, blades upon blades stabbing his protective wings until they finally stop altogether and Kyungsoo is left puzzled and tired and mostly _hurt_.

 

When he unfurls one of his wings it is to the sight of two Maldorian warriors firing arrows upon arrows towards the blue-eyed elves who dodge them away with their rigid bladed hands. With the distraction, Kyungsoo takes this chance to check on Jongin who is now breathing hard within his embrace, his large figure curling over the pain on his hip, and Kyungsoo can only sob.

 

“Oh, Jongin, please hang in there,” He cries, hiding his face within the crook of Jongin’s neck that is now perspiring cold sweat. “Hang in there, _please_.”

 

“Your Highness!” Mark rushes towards them and gasps at the bloody wings and at the human in his hold. “Is that a…?”

 

“Summon General Kris. Now!” Minseok who is still attacking the two elves yells at the junior warrior, and Mark instantly heeds to it as he snags the stone piece, his charm, from his collar and flings it onto the ground, creating a golden rimmed circle that lasts for a second before another circle grows and enlarges and brightness seeps through from the other world, lighting up the dark storeware, until an energy emerges from it and materializes into a person - a tall person with blonde hair tied into a thin ponytail by his nape and resting above a gold coloured robe. His eyes match those of the robe, glowing and swirling with sandy amber.

 

“General, you’re here!”

 

“Good work, Minseok,” That is all he says before he projects a light from his hand and it pierces through the two elves quite effortlessly before they fall limp onto the ground, their bladed hands now shifting back to regular fingers and are held captive by the General’s spell. “Bring the captives back. I shall deal with my foolish brother.”

 

At his order, Minseok and Mark roughly holds the two elves by their arms and lead them towards Kris’s portal ring, disappearing in an instant while Kris walks over towards the two slumped figures.

 

“I should have never sent you. Should have known you are not made for combat,” Kris says vehemently while forcing Kyungsoo to lose the wings and return to his form as he knows at this state, his brother cannot do it on his own, and as soon as the wings are gone, leaving leaves behind, there lays a human in his lap, and Kris glares harder.

 

“Brother,” Kyungsoo looks up with pleading eyes. “Please save him.” Hiccups escape his parted lips, his shoulders shaking ever the slightest as he continues to sob, cheeks all blotchy and eyes teary.

 

“The human should not be of our concern. You are a fool to have involved him. Get up,” Kris tries to hoist his brother up by his arm but he would not budge, continuing to curl around the human guardedly.

 

“We made an _oath_ to protect their world,” The younger elf snarls, looking up at him in disdain and Kris can only wonder how he still has that much energy with all the blood on his back from his injured wings just now. “This man has protected _me_ instead.”

 

“You were the one to break it in the first place…,” Kris sighs and rubs at his temples, looking over the two before releasing another defeated sigh and gives in. He hoists Kyungsoo up bridal style and the little male whimpers in pain, his lithe arms circling Kris’s neck for purchase. “I shall send my men to take him.”

 

“Thank you, brother.” Kyungsoo weakly turns his head to check on the human, and Jongin is the last thing he sees before unconsciousness blankets him.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
